House panel frustrated by slow pace of medical marijuana law

TALLAHASSEE — Members of a House health care panel expressed their frustration Tuesday after learning that Florida patients who qualify for medical marijuana won't be able to access the benefit any time soon.

Florida Department of Health General Counsel, Nichole Geary, told members of the House Health Quality subcommittee that the department does not know when it will announce which nurseries have been chosen as authorized dispensing organizations under the state's compassionate use law.

Story Continued Below

Twenty-eight nurseries across the state submitted their applications by the July deadline. Those applications are still being reviewed by a three-member panel, Geary said.

Geary’s announcement did not sit well with panel members, who said they were frustrated the department still has not implemented a law that was passed in 2014.

When Geary said the DOH has directed two-and-a-half full-time staff members to work on implementing the law, panel member Rep. Kristin Jacobs told her to compile a list of the agencies that are going to help the DOH administer the law and report back to the panel.

While the committee did not receive information regarding when the dispensing organizations will be authorized, it did get details from the Florida Medical Association on the numbers of physicians who have completed the required course to prescribe cannabis.

FMA General Counsel Jeff Scott told the committee that 48 physicians have completed the course with the largest number of physicians — 9 — coming from the area of the state that includes Orange, Volusia and Lake counties.

Another 30 physicians, Scott told the committee, have completed the low-THC cannabis medical directors course. The area including Hillsborough, Pinellas and Manatee counties leads the state in numbers of physicians who have completed that course, with seven doctors.

Committee chairman and physician, Cary Pigman, asked Scott to provide the committee with the background of the physicians and their areas of practice.

As the department works to implement the 2014 law, which authorizes low THC for mostly children, there are already efforts underway to broaden it.

The Florida Supreme Court is reviewing a proposed constitutional amendment that would legalize marijuana for medical purposes. If approved by the court, it would appear before Florida voters in November 2016.

There are also legislative efforts to broaden the existing law. Committee member Rep. Greg Steube has filed a bill for consideration in the 2016 session to broaden the existing law to cover more patients. The bill also includes a regulatory structure for medical marijuana.

In an availability with reporters after the meeting, Steube said the slow pace in implementing the 2014 law may help his efforts to get his bill heard this year.

“I think it shows there needs to be a very robust regulatory scheme in place in the statute, to give very clear guidance to the Department of Health,” he said.